


Harmony Blues

by susiephalange



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Backstory, F/M, Female!Reader - Freeform, Fluff, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 19:19:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7374178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/susiephalange/pseuds/susiephalange
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reader cannot touch anyone, not since her mutation developed. Now, with the Professor on her case, she has to finally interact with everyone else...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Harmony Blues

**Author's Note:**

> I had no idea before doing my research for this fic that Alex Summers and Scott Summers were related! Now I just want to hug Alex and Scott really close to me and give them blankets and love. 
> 
> P.S. I haven't seen the new X-Men movie, so this is based from what I know of him from First Class.

You had not held anyone's hand for almost three years. Because of this, many people assumed you hated contact with people, or were some kind of freak. The problem was, those assumptions were correct. Ever since your accident three years ago, you had not touched anyone's skin, kissed anyone's cheeks, slapped anyone's hands in a victorious high five. Why? You were some kind of freak. A mutated human being, the next step in evolution, like all the other kids you were holed up with in Professor Xavier's school. 

Apart from the fact you'd gone over a thousand days without physical contact, you were normal. Compared to the students who had more visible mutations, of course. They couldn't hide in a crowd, and were forced to flaunt their differences visibly, like Raven, Kurt, and Warren.  Maybe because you couldn't fit in with the other humans because of your mutation was why you were estranged at the school also.

It wasn't like everyone could touch people, and make them slowly die. 

"______, for the last time, that is not what your mutation does," the professor scolds you. You're in his private office, and while it feels like you're Harry and he's bald Dumbledore, there's no way there's ever going to be a cure or 'shortcut' around your mutation to make it bearable to live with. Maybe that's why you and Marie got on so well. "You have a development in your pores and lymph glands leaves you with a storage of energy of which you absorb and disperse freely into others."

You sigh. There's no sense arguing with the professor. 

He's the one with the PhD and you're the one without many friends.

"I understand you're remorseful of what occurred three years ago, ______, but if you do not train and learn your abilities, then you have no place here at the X Mansion," Charles Xavier whispers. "I know this is a haven for mutant-kind, and my policy is to care for all, but ______," his face is sad. "I do not know what to do with a mutant who does not care for their mutation."

"How - how can I start?" you stand from your chair. There's no way you want to be kicked out back to where they can judge you.

The Professor's face lights up like a bald Christmas light. "I will have you training with Scott Summers' class first thing tomorrow, and you must commit. I see greatness in you, _______."

You laugh. "That's some classic Star Trek stuff there, Picard." You don't believe him. You're ... you. Just you. "Is there anything else you need from me before I go?" you ask him.

Professor Xavier smiles. "No, but please tell Kitty on your way out to stop putting her ear in the wall to eavesdrop. I can hear her thoughts from a mile away, as it is." He gestures to the door. "I believe in you, ______. You will make a great leader, one day."

 

 

 

The morning finds you choking down on your breakfast, jumping into sports clothes (anything not to be wearing the yellow-black leotards) and making way to the training area. Though you'd not actually had formal training, you'd done plenty of spying on the trainees, the future X-Men and women from the secret window you'd found on accident. You know that Scott Summers, who's only a couple years older than you, really, is the teacher, and his friend Jean likes to jump in an co-pilot the show with him. You know Piotr never misses a day, and Bobby never fails to show off. 

"First time?" 

You turn, and gape. Standing there, is none other than the instructor's brother, and quite frankly, the heartthrob on campus, Alex Summers. While Scott had taken the temperament and skill in the Summers' bloodline, Alex was blessed with the rugged good-looks and a temper to match his mutation. 

For the first time ever, you stand speechless. There was no reason for Alex to talk to you; you had never exchanged words with him before, and he was a field-worthy, combatant level student. It was like a boot talking to an ant, and thinking them equal.

"I - yeah," your cheeks heat up. "First training."

His face splits into a smile. "You're going to have fun. Today's Teamwork Tuesday Day, and you don't have a partner, do you?" Alex asks you. 

Something drops in your stomach, leaving you feeling dizzy. Teamwork? No thanks. 

"Hey, I'll be your partner," Alex suggests. Reaching for your hand, your fingers interlock, and he takes you toward the group. "Don't need to be shy, it's just training. Hey, if you're nervous, just pretend everyone isn't there," he suggests. "Like they're holographic projections or something."

You haven't breathed in almost a minute. "How - how are you touching me?" you whisper.

"Hello everyone! It's Tuesday, so you know what that means!" Scott runs into the training room, adjusting his glasses. "I'm going to have you run 15 laps of this room as a team, and if any of you lag, I'll have you do thirty push ups." the elder Summers instructs. "There's no such thing as lagging on a battlefield, in a fight. You lag, you lose. You lose, you die."

"What?" Alex whispers. He takes his hand from yours. "Something wrong?"

You look at your palm, still feeling the tingling sensation you remember from the last time you touched another person. But instead of seeing a body on the floor, Alex is still standing, and has a look in his eyes that suggests he's either confused or afraid. 

"N-no," you blink. 

Over from the side, Scott blows a whistle, and the rest of the trainees start their laps. "Come on, time to run! Alex! Talk to the pretty girl later, bro!" Scott yells to the pair of you. 

Alex rolls his eyes. "Come on, ______. I'm going to need a kick-ass partner to beat everyone with." He grins, and you both take off running the prescribed laps. 

 

 

 

A week later, you feel someone touch your shoulder. For the afternoon off - the great advantage of two study sessions side by side on a Friday afternoon - you had seated yourself deep in the garden, under the willows by the fountain. Not many students came out to study in the gardens, not since the colder weather was setting in. 

"Alex, you surprised me," you stand, and watch your fellow mutant. The afternoon sunlight filters through the willow branches, leaving elegant mystical shadows over his perfect face. "How -,"

He shakes his head. "I watched you come out here, _______. I'm not a stalker, I swear," he prefaces. Alex comes around the park seat, and settles down upon it. "You know, _______, I like you." 

"We've talked once, before, Alex," you frown. "I -,"

He closes his beautiful eyes, and takes a sharp breath. "You act like you're invisible, _______. Like nobody cares and nobody notices you, at all," he tells you. "I've known you since you came, you just haven't know me. Our rooms are beside each other's. You eat on the table across the room from mine at meal times, and you always bring a book to read no matter what." he tells you. 

"Alex," you breathe.

"I asked Professor Xavier why you were spooked when I touched you," he adds, quickly. "Turns out that my mutation is probably the only thing that keeps me alive when we're in contact. I never knew why you wore the long gloves, never showed skin," he breathes. "Now I do."

You feel a tear escape your lashes.

"Crap, I've made you cry," he hisses. "I'm sorry."

You shake your head. "No, no," you smile to yourself, and settle your hands neat on your lap. "It's just - the last time anyone was this close to me, I killed them." you turn to Alex, and gaze into his dark eyes. "I killed my brother, Alex. He was trying to re-tile the roof, since Dad couldn't get up there anymore with his arthritis. I watched him fall, two stories." your lip trembles, and taking a deep breath, you go on. "My brother, my best friend; he would have made it if I didn't try to help him up."

Alex makes a noise. It's something you can't remember is, it's been so long since you have heard this noise. It's strange, but sounds nice to hear. _Sympathy_. 

"It's not your fault," he whispers.

You nod. "I tell myself that every day," you confess.

Alex looks at your hands, and slowly, he reaches for one. "I want to show you that you're not going to hurt me," he tells you. "You and me, we're outliers in this world. Like those two fish that swim together, yang - yin and yang." All you can see is Alex, and his deep eyes, mesmerizing you with their beauty. "I've had the biggest crush on you for like, three years."

You gasp. "Really?"

His face heats up a shade of embarrassment. "Yeah, I -,"

But you don't let him continue, and instead, throw your arms around his shoulders. Any other girl would take this as the opportunity: the opportunity to kiss the younger, hotter, kinder Summers brother who's just confessed his love to you like a Shakespearean-aged gentleman in a sonnet. But you are not every other girl: you're _______, the girl who has now found someone who will not die from your contact, the girl who is less of a freak show in a freak show school, the girl who loves him back. Instead of a kiss, your arms wrap around his broad back, eyes half closed as you feel his body breathe and live beside you.

"I like you the same way, Alex Summers," you smile into his neck. "I think I've liked you for three years too."

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any requests, find me on Tumblr at @susiephalange, or [@phalangewrites](https://phalangewrites.tumblr.com/request_conditions) ʕ·ᴥ·ʔ✿


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